Adjustable flow controller



April 16, 1968 L. (5. POE ET 3,378,206

ADJUSTABLE FLOW CONTROLLER Filed March 21, 1966 INVENTORS:

L22: 6'. P172, Nun/mu TERMS/7N.

United States Patent 3,378,206 ADJUSTABLE FLOW CONTROLLER Lee G. Poe, Toledo, and Norman T. Ferguson, Maumee, Ohio, assiguors to Midland-Ross Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 535,887 6 Claims. (Cl. 239-4025) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to an apparatus for directing a fluid along a path selectively in any of a plurality of directions. The apparatus includes a rotatable conduit and a directing member that extends transversely within the conduit. The directing member is contiguous with the inner surface of the conduit at one end thereof and the other end is spaced from the inner surface of the conduit. At the opposite end of the conduit, means is provided for supplying a fluid to the apparatus. This apparatus for changing the direction of fluid flow has particular utility in the supplying of gas to a burner. Through an apparatus of this type the flame resulting from the burner may be varied in length and in intensity.

This invention relates to means for controlling flow of fluid and more particularly to means for directing flow of gas to a burner or other apparatus from a plurality of directions.

Many devices require a supply of fluid, and require that the direction of flow of fluid can be changed from time to time. In a rotary burner, for example, the capability of changing the direction from which air or fuel enters the burner is desirable, since this can enable changing the length of the flame from the burner. By changing the direction of flow of the air or fuel, the rate of mixing of the air and fuel can be controlled and, hence, the flame length can be regulated. In devices heretofore known for changing the direction of gas flow in a passage, the resistance to flow was changed when the direction of the gas flow was changed, with the result that the quantity of gas supplied changed when the direction was changed. This was true, for example of pivoted vanes or blades mounted near the outlets of ducts to change the direction of How of gas emitted therefrom, the vanes changing the effective open area of the duct as the vanes were turned. In burners receiving gas in the form of air or fuel from such apparatus, the change in gas flow changed the air-fuel ratio and thereby caused a stoichiometric ratio under one condition to become too lean or rich when the gas direction was changed.

The present invention relates to means for changing the direction of flow of a fluid through a duct without affecting the rate of flow. The means includes a directing member transversely disposed at a fixed angle in the passage with a constant open area always remaining in the passage to provide a constant pressure drop, regardless of the direction.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the invention to provide means for supplying fluid to apparatus from different directions without substantially affecting the resistance to flow of the fluid.

Another object of the invention is to provide means "ice for directing flow of fluid through a passage without changing the open area thereof as the flow direction is changed.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide means for supplying air or fuel to a burner from different directions without affecting the air-fuel ratio.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear view, with parts broken away and with parts in section, of a burner and an air supply embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in vertical cross section, with parts broken away, taken generally along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view, with parts broken away and with parts in section, of the burner and air supply of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view in vertical section taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2.

While the invention is shown and discussed in connection with a fuel burner for a furnace or the like, the invention can be used with any apparatus requiring a supply of air or other fluid, and control of the direction of fluid flow. The invention is particularly advantageous for apparatus which requires a constant volume of fluid regardless of the direction from which it is supplied. The invention, however, has been found to be especially elfective for use with burners in which maximum efficiency can be attained only with a particular ratio of air to fuel, the efficiency decreasing if the mixture is either too rich or too lean.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1-3, a burner indicated at 10 includes a central housing or wall means 12 forming a cylindrical fuel chamber 14 having a rear wall 16. A fuel inlet tube 18 projects into the chamber 14 from the rear wall 16. Fuel is supplied to the tube 18 through a suitable pipe 20. A plurality of vanes 22 are angularly disposed with respect to the axis of the chamber 14 and are uniformly spaced around the housing 12 near the end of the chamber 14. The housing 12 also has a pair of diametrically-opposed tangential air inlets 24 (FIG. 2) located adjacent the rear wall 16 and four radially-extending ports 26 intermediate the chamber 14 near the end of the fuel tube 18.

A main burner housing 28 is located around the inner housing 12 and is attached to a burner plate 30 which is Welded to an outer sheet of a furnace sidewall 32. The outer housing 28 forms, with the inner housing 12, an annular air chamber 34 from which air can be supplied through the inlets 24 and the radial ports 26 to the chamber 14. Air also flows in contact with the vanes 22 which can impart spin to the air as the air and fuel are directed through an opening 36 in the wall 32. The housing 28 has a central inlet opening 38 through which air is supplied to the annular chamber 34.

If air is supplied in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the rear in FIG. 1, the air will move generally in the direction of the vanes 22 and will be supplied through the opening 36 with substantial rotation. This actually causes the air and fuel to mix relatively slowly since the air tends to be thrown outwardly while the fuel continues generally centrally of the air path. Consequently, a relatively long flame is produced with the burner 10. Air supplied to the annular chamber 34 in a clockwise direction tends to move perpendicularly to the vanes 22 with the result that a substantial amount of turbulence is caused and rapid mixing of the air and the fuel results in the opening 36. The rapid mixing of the air and fuel results in a much shorter flame.

In accordance with the invention, the air (for the annular chamber 34 is supplied through a conduit or supply passage means 40 (see FIG. 4 also) having a lower threaded end 42 engaged in the opening 38. The threaded engagement enables an inexpensive, rotatable, yet gastight joint to be effected between the conduit 40 and the housing 28. An upper end 44 of the conduit 40 also is threaded and is connected to an air supply line 46. The threads at the ends of the conduit can be opposite, one being a left-hand thread and one being a right-hand thread, so that the distance between the supply tube and the burner will change slightly as the conduit is rotated. The change in movement is small, however, since the conduit need only be rotated through an angle of 180, in this instance and with a rotation through more than a 360 angle never being necessary. The supply line can be flexible or have a flexible joint therein to accommodate the slight movement toward or away from the burner as the conduit 40 is turned.

A directing member 48 is located in the conduit 40 for directing the air or other gas passing through the conduit. As shown, the member 48 is of arcuate transverse cross section throughout its length with the radius of curvature decreasing toward the lower end thereof. This shape causes the effective open area of the conduit to decrease more rapidly than otherwise in a downstream direction to further increase the velocity of the gas and thereby extend the altered path thereof. The smaller lower end also enables the lower end to be located near the opposite surface of the conduit 40 while the upper end is substantially of the same diameter as, and contiguous with, the conduit 40. The upper end of the directing member 48, being contiguous with an inner surface 50 of the conduit 40, can be welded thereto as indicated at 52. A portion of a lower end 53 of the member can be tack welded to the inner surface 50, as indicated at 54. The lower end of the directing member 48 terminates near the lower end of the conduit 40 and preferably extends slightly beyond this end of the conduit and partially into the annular chamber 34, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. This enables the air to be directed more effectively than if the lower end terminated at the end of the conduit or above it.

The conduit 40 can be turned by means of a radially extending handle 56. The handle can be moved between positions A and B (FIG. 1) to direct the air fully in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction and also can be positioned at an intermediate point, such as position C, to decrease the extent of the clockwise or counterclockwise rotation.

As shown in FIG. 3, the directing member 48 always retains a fixed position relative to the conduit 40 and always leaves a constant amount of open area in the conduit 40 since the angle of the directing member 48 is never changed relative to the conduit. The area between the lower end of the directing member 43 and the interior surface 50 of the conduit always is constant while there is never any open area between the upper end of the directing member 48 and the interior surface 50 of the conduit. The spaces between the longitudinal edges of the directing member and the interior surface also always remains the same. If desired, these openings can be closed off entirely by more carefully contouring the longitudinal edges of the directing member 48, particularly if the control over the direction of flow is especially critical in a particular application.

Various modifications of the above described embodiment of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is to be understood that such modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the in- 4 vention, if they are Within the spirit and the tenor of the accompanying claims.

We claim:

1. Means for supplying to a burner a combustion-supporting gas from any one of a plurality of directions, said burner including means forming a fuel chamber, means for supplying fuel to one end of said chamber, means forming an annular combustion-supporting gas passage around said fuel chamber, vanes in said passage, said passage forming means having a threaded inlet communicating with said passage upstreamof said vanes, said supply means including a threaded conduit having opposite threads at the ends thereof with one end adapted to be received in the threaded inlet and the opposite end adapted to be received in a threaded end of a supply line, a directing member afiixed in said threaded conduit and extending partially thereacross with one end contiguous with the inner surface of said threaded conduit and the other end spaced from the inner surface of said threaded conduit, said other end being downstream of said one end, said other end terminating near the end of said conduit toward said inlet, and handle means extending outwardly from said conduit to enable said conduit to be turned relative to said threaded inlet and said supply line.

2. Supply means for delivering to a burner a combustion-supporting gas from any one of a plurality of directions, said burner including means forming a fuel chamber, and means for supplying fuel to one end of said chamber, said supply means comprising means forming an an- \nular combustion-supporting gas passage around said fuel chamber, vanes in said passage, said passage forming means having a threaded inlet communicating with said passage upstream of said vanes, said supply means also including a threaded conduit having threads at the ends thereof with one end adapted to be received in the threaded inlet and the opposite end adapted to be received in a threaded end of a supply line, and a directing member affixed in said threaded conduit and extending partially thereacross with one end contiguous with the inner surface of said threaded conduit and the other end spaced from the inner surface of said threaded conduit, said other end being downstream of said one end, said other end terminating near the end of said conduit toward said inlet.

3. Supply means for delivering to a burner a combustion-supporting gas from any one of a plurality of directions, said burner including means forming a fuel chamber, and means for supplying fuel to one end of said chamber, said supply means comprising means forming an annular combustion-supporting gas passage around said fuel chamber, vanes in said passage, said passage forming means having an inlet communicating with said passage upstream of said vanes, said supply means also including a conduit having means at one end adapted to be rotatably connected with the inlet and means at the other end adapted to be rotatably connected with a supply line, and a directing member afiixed in said conduit and extending partially thereacross with one end contiguous with the inner surface of said conduit and the other end spaced from the inner surface of said conduit, said other end being downstream of said one end, said other end terminating near the end of said conduit.

4. Means for supplying to an apparatus a fluid from any one of a plurality of directions, said apparatus having a threaded inlet, said supply means including a threaded conduit having opposite threads at the ends thereof with one end adapted to be received in the threaded inlet and the opposite end adapted to be received in a threaded end of a supply line, a directing member affixed in said threaded conduit and extending partially thereacross with one end contiguous with the inner surface of said threaded conduit and with the other end spaced from the inner surface of said threaded conduit, said other end being downstream of said one end, said other end terminating near the end of said conduit, and handle means extending outwardly from said conduit to enable said conduit to be turned relative to said threaded inlet and said supply line.

5. Means for supplying to an apparatus a fluid from any one of a plurality of directions, said apparatus having a threaded inlet, said supply means including a threaded conduit having threads at the ends thereof with one end adapted to be received in the threaded inlet and the opposite end adapted to be received in a threaded end of a supply line, and a directing member affixed in said threaded conduit and extending partially thereacross with one end contiguous with the inner surface of said threaded conduit and with the other end spaced from the inner surface of said threaded conduit, said other end being downstream of said one end, said other end terminating near the end of said conduit.

6. Means for supplying to an apparatus a fluid from any one of a plurality of directions, said apparatus having a threaded inlet, said supply means including a conduit having means at one end adapted to be rotatab-ly connected with the inlet and means at the opposite end adapted to be rotatably connected with an end of a supply line, and a directing member affixed in said conduit and extending partially thereacross with one end contiguous with the inner surface of said conduit and with the other end spaced from the inner surface of said conduit, said other end being downstream of said one end, said other end terminating near the end of said conduit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 362,917 5/1887 Exner 137--610 422,770 3/ 1890 Grassner 137-6 10 850,762 4/ 1907 Kolla 137610 1,333,142 3/1920 Ulrner 13-837 1,494,351 5/1924 Gillard -2 138--37 X 1,593,186 7/1926 McKean et al 239-405 X 1,790,927 2/ 1931 Kreager 239402.5 3,153,438 10/1964 Brno-zowski 239-405 X 3,195,609 7/1965 Nesbitt et a1. 1587 3,199,537 8/1965 Swanson 137-610 X FOREIGN PATENTS 30,445 11/ 1959 Finland. 339,466 4/1936 Italy.

M. HENSON WOOD, 111., Primary Examiner.

VAN C. WILKS, Assistant Examiner. 

